Already down two starters — star forward Carl Hall (thumb surgery) and guard Evan Wessel (broken finger) — the Shockers now will be without a third, guard Ron Baker, for about six weeks because of a stress fracture in his left foot.

Ron Baker will miss about six weeks. (AP Photo)

“Our margin for error is much less than it was approximately a week ago,” Marshall said. “We've literally got three starters out and another one banged up. They were starters for a reason."

Baker, a redshirt freshman from Scott City, Kan., was averaging 7.3 points and 2.6 rebounds through the first 10 games.

Hall, the team’s leading scorer, will miss four weeks, and doctors still aren’t sure if Wessel’s injury will require surgery. And now Baker. At least 7-footer Ehimen Orukpe (sprained ankle) returned to action last weekend after missing three games.

Wichita State (9-1) has one of the most impressive wins of the college season -- on the road at VCU -- and its lone loss is at a surging Tennessee last weekend. The Shockers play at home on Thursday against Charleston Southern, and Marshall is calling on the fans to help fill the gap.

"At this point the Shocker faithful needs to do what they can to help,” the coach said. “It's not on them. It's on us, but anything they can do to rally around this team with noise and support. We've got a few home games before Christmas and we've got the one right after Christmas against Northern Iowa. This place needs to be as loud as it can possibly be.

“We're 9-1, but we've had our wings clipped a little bit and we've got to use every available resource and that's certainly a big one."